Having serious thoughts about upgrading from my ML7 now.
Before I take some piccies and stick it up for sale in the usual
places, any hint of interest here?
Unilikely to be cheap though, as it was restored to as new condition
quite recently, with plenty of extras to go with it.
And that's a proper restration btw, not a repaint.
Peter
A specific one or just one in general?
Personally I'd have a Chipmaster(even a knackered variator one) if I
wanted that size of lathe. I'm told that variator replacement works
well with a modern vector control inverter since they do at least have
a back gear.
Charles
A specific one that may come up shortly.
I have thought about Chipmasters, but most are getting a bit long in
the tooth now and even the ratty ones seem to go for ridiculous
prices.
However having said that, a particularly pristine Chippy was up for
sale north of the border just recently - looked almost brand new.
Peter
The only two half decent machines Colchester ever made were the
Chipmaster and the Magnum,especially the Chipmaster.Not a toolroom
lathe in any sense of the word but a decent little lathe to use on a
part time basis.The variator is it`s weak point but if you make a
point of using the correct oil in it and always adjusting the speed
up and down a bit every time you use it you will get good service out
it.
Mark
Hi Peter, good luck with selling the Myford, with the description of
the resoration you gave us you certainly should get some interest from
the more knowlegeble. I will be interested in how active the market is
as I may yet sell one of mine if the market place hasn't gone too
"soft".
I must agree with Charles as I have always seen the Bantam as a bit of
an "inbetween" lathe, between the Chipmaster (superb if in good
condition and unfortunately rare these days) and the Student which I
have a soft spot for as I did most of my training on them. A good
Bantam though is a nice lathe even if a bit lightweight in Colchester
terms; do make sure that it is a nice one though as restoration will
not be as simple/cheap as the Myford. Good luck with your "upsize" I'm
not yet ready to agree to "upgrade" from a good Myford :-)) VBG
Keith
Ha, ha, very good John, as someone who rarely ventures north of
Bristol it took me a little while to work out what Chat Moss was. Be
fair though I didn't claim the Student was brilliant just that I had
used them a lot and have become used to their many foibles. I suppose
the telling point is that I haven't actually spent my own money on
one. It's a bit like the old sweater I tend to wear when in the
workshop, it's full of holes and has needed to be rescued from the bin
a couple of times when my wife got fed up washing "that collection of
holes", it's just so bl***dy comfortable though.
I know that you professionals rate Colchesters somewhat lower than we
amateurs but I do think that a good one is a very reasonable "hobby"
machine. While a bit irrelevant if Peter knows of a good Bantam that
will be available and we all know good machines take a bit of finding
and should be grabbed with both hands, most of my searching at that
size was for a good Harrison M250 or M300. I found several very good
ones but they were all very short on equipment and the cost of bits
and pieces is frightening unless you are lucky on E-bay and I've never
been lucky so didn't risk waiting.
Anyway must return to the original topic and I do believe that a well
restored Myford (like Peters) would make a superb starting point for
many so don't delay contact him today.
Regards
Keith
"Anyway must return to the original topic and I do believe that a
well
restored Myford (like Peters) would make a superb starting point for
many so don't delay contact him today."
That Peter has relatives everywhere.
Mark.
On Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:53:45 -0800 (PST), " snipped-for-privacy@ems-fife.co.uk"
And they cost me a bloody fortune<G>.
Seriously though, thanks for the plaudits Keith, cheque is in the
post. Oddly enough as your penchant for Students comes from training
on them, I did much of mine on Bantams. Whilst they don't have the
huge metal removal rates that Mark needs from his machines, they are
still very capable and I do remember taking a *huge* DOC on a Bantam
with a ceramic bit at top speed and feed.
This was late 70's/early 80's when they looked like a large asprin
tablet, and we were being allowed to try them out instead of using the
more usual HSS or Stellite.
Although not as rigid or speedy as a Chippy they are still good
machines. Pretty robust carriage & apron, a sturdy bed if not as
massive as the Chippy, and a decent spindle bore.
Much as I'd like a nice CVA as some of you lucky chaps out there have,
lack of space, and finding a decent one for a decent price (like a
Chipmaster) is a bit of a lottery.
Peter
Don`t want to poach the thread,but,I reckon that over 50% of
Colchester`s sales to industry are based on the fact that most peoples
first experience of a lathe after the Boxfords and Myfords at school
were on Colchesters at college.
I was lucky,went to a brand new tech as the first year of apprentices
to get day release in the early sixties.All the lathes were Students
apart from one Town Woodhouse.After trying both,I spent my time on the
Town.Nobody else used it as it`s top speed was only 460rpm as opposed
to the Student`s 1200rpm.In the forty odd years
since,spent,using,repairing,buying and selling lathes,nothing I have
seen has caused me to change my opinion that Colchesters are crap.All
the newer ones(square heads) have going for them is a good paint
job,which,unfortunately often blinds the buyer to the possibility that
the rest of the machine is well worn.Experience has taught me that
they usually are well worn,headstocks especially.
Colchester appear to have been displaced in the colleges by the BSA
Foremost lathe (www.bsamachinetools.co.uk) which although built in
China to BSA`s spec are selling like hotcakes.
No apologies for the plug,BSA is a good British company who`s
fast,efficient and friendly service puts most companies to shame.
Mark.
Come and have a play on mine if you want.
If you can drag yourself away from work I'm at home on gardening leave
for a couple more weeks.
Problem is it might put you off a Bantam.
Charles
You can also try mine if you like or have a look on
http://ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/ColchesterLathe-User/photos/browse/2c7b
to see my chipmaster.
Regards
Alan
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